BY MICHAEL PAUL WILLIAMS
Times-Dispatch Staff Writer

Johnnie Taylor shook her head, raised her arms and mouthed a silent prayer as the band struck up “Hail to the Chief” for President Barack Obama.

Taylor, 60, recalled her youth as a civil-rights activist who was yanked from a lunch-counter stool during a Woolworth’s sit in. The conflict resolution trainer at the Richmond Peace Education Center sees Obama’s presidency as the product of divine intervention.

“When things like this happen, it’s not by accident. It’s not by history. It’s an ordained event,” she said. “I know man had to vote, but God made this happen.”

Kayla Hill-Jones was born a half-century after Taylor, but bore a psychic load no less onerous. For the Glen Allen Elementary School fourth-grader, yesterday meant this: “That I can accomplish anything, even though I’m black.”

Taylor and Kayla were among three dozen people who watched Obama’s inauguration at Highland Park’s Fire House 15 as they washed down chili, cornbread, tossed salad and brownies with sweet iced tea. The fire station-turned-eatery is run by Boaz & Ruth, a nonprofit that seeks to transform Highland Park, serve as a community bridge and rebuild the lives of formerly incarcerated men and women.

As I listened to a 10-year-old child describe her brave new world, it brought to mind the old one of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Upon telling his young daughter that the Atlanta amusement park Funtown was closed to black children, he could see “ominous clouds of inferiority beginning to form in her little mental sky.”

Those clouds have hovered over the collective mental sky of African-Americans throughout the nation’s history.

Yesterday, the skies cleared.

The forecast for America is another matter. The nation’s helm has been handed to an African-American during one of the most turbulent times in our nation’s history.

Adria Scharf, director of the Richmond Peace Education Center, described yesterday as “disorienting,” and indeed, there was a magical aura that bordered on surreal. You might say the country has found its bearings after straying wildly off course from the grand ideals charted in its founding.

The journey toward that ideal is far from complete. But perhaps for the first time, many of us understand how King felt in the famous speech that foreshadowed his death. Like him, we don’t know what will happen now. There are difficult days ahead. But that doesn’t matter as much anymore. We’ve been to the mountaintop.

“I’m 50,” said Ruth Cosby, a Boaz & Ruth graduate who supervises its furniture store at Third and Main streets. “I thought I would never see this. I just couldn’t stop crying. I think this is going to unite us as a country, and we’re going to realize Dr. King’s dream.”

If that’s the case, it’s children such as Kayla who stand to inherit a nobler nation.

Kayla’s parents, Stan Jones and Regina Hill, are supporters of Boaz & Ruth. “We wanted her to experience giving instead of receiving — of serving others,” her mother said of Kayla.

Kayla wore a red and blue T-shirt that featured a portrait of the new first family inside the presidential seal.

“She said she wanted to be the first African-American president,” her mother said, chuckling. “I told her she could be the first woman.”

By SEAN MUSSENDEN
Media General News Service

WASHINGTON— House Democrats accused Federal Communications Commission chairman Kevin Martin Tuesday of “egregious abuses of power” following a year-long inquiry into the North Carolina Republican’s stewardship of the agency.

A report by Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce committee charged that Martin, a Charlotte native who was named chairman by President George Bush in 2005, created a culture of “distrust, suspicion and turmoil” at the FCC while mismanaging the agency and wasting taxpayer funds.

“He has destroyed the integrity of the FCC,” said Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the committee’s oversight and investigations subcommittee.

FCC spokesman Robert Kenny downplayed the committee’s findings.

“It appears that the committee did not find or conclude that there were any violations of rules, laws or procedures following a year-long investigation,” Kenny said.

“Chairman Martin has followed the same procedures that have been followed for the past 20 years by FCC chairmen, both Democratic and Republican alike,” he said.       

Bush appointed Martin to the five-member panel in 2001 after Martin worked for the Bush-Cheney 2000 campaign and transition office.  

Though Martin’s term as an FCC commissioner runs through 2011, his   chairmanship will end after Bush leaves office in January.  Martin has not indicated if he will remain on the panel when President-elect Obama names a new chairman.     

Martin, 41, is a graduate of the University of North Carolina, Duke University and Harvard Law School. He is widely believed to be considering a run for political office in North Carolina after his tenure on the FCC ends.

Over the last year, Democrats have questioned some of his dealings at the FCC, which could complicate his political future. North Carolina Democrats filed a public records request for records of Martin’s travel to North Carolina while at the FCC, suggesting he was using taxpayer money to lay the groundwork for a political campaign in his home state.   

In October, a budget watchdog group, Citizens Against Government Waste, named Martin “Porker of the Month” for spending $355,000 to sponsor a North Carolina NASCAR driver’s car to raise awareness for the coming digital television switch.

The congressional report released Tuesday found that Martin “manipulated, withheld or suppressed data, reports and information” from other commissioners in a debate over regulation of cable companies.  

The report also accused Martin of  “lax at best” oversight of the finances of the Telecommunications Relay Service, which helps deaf and speech-disabled people make telephone calls. 

The report found that consumers were over-charged for use of the service, while the companies that provided it were over-compensated “potentially by as much as $100 million per year.”

Kenny said Martin wanted to ensure that disabled Americans had access to the service.

“The chairman makes no apologies for his commitment to serving deaf and disabled Americans and for fighting to lower exorbitantly high cable rates that consumers are forced to pay,” Kenny said.

ATLANTA – There’s now just one unresolved Senate contest in the country.

But the stakes in the Minnesota recount are much lower, since Democrat hopes of a 60-seat filibuster-proof majority have been dashed.

Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss won a bruising runoff battle against Democrat Jim Martin in Georgia yesterday. It’s a rare bright spot for Republicans in a year where they lost the White House as well as seats in the House and Senate.

The runoff was necessary because neither man got 50 percent in a three-way contest in November.

Chambliss’ mantra on the campaign trail was simple: His re-election was critical to prevent Democrats in Washington from having a blank check.

Martin made the economy the centerpiece of his bid, casting himself as a champion of the neglected middle class.

ATLANTA – Georgia voters had their hands on the balance of power in the next U.S. Senate in a runoff election Tuesday, one of two unresolved races that Democrats need to win to get a 60-seat majority impervious to GOP filibusters.

Republican U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss faced Democrat Jim Martin after a post-general election campaign that drew national political heavyweights from both parties.

In Minnesota, a recount that could take weeks is under way in a tight race between Republican Sen. Norm Coleman and Democrat Al Franken.

No problems were reported after Georgia polls opened at 7 a.m., Secretary of State spokesman Matt Carrothers said. A few precincts reported short lines. Polls were scheduled to close at 7 p.m. Murray Gottlieb, 54, a caterer in Savannah, said he voted for Chambliss because he doesn’t want complete Democratic control of the Senate.

“I support Barack Obama now. I hope he’s the best president we’ve ever had and we get out of the funk we’re in, but I don’t want to give him that much power,” Gottlieb said after casting his ballot at a church in Savannah.

The ailing economy brought architect Glen McClure, 47, out for Martin.

“My motivation is, I’m unemployed as of yesterday,” he said at a library-turned-polling place in Atlanta’s upscale Buckhead neighborhood.

Chambliss and Martin both fell short of the 50-percent threshold in a three-way general election race with Libertarian candidate Allen Buckley, who drew 3.4 percent of the vote. It’s Georgia’s first Senate runoff since 1992, when Democratic Sen. Wyche Fowler was upset by Republican Paul Coverdell.

Chambliss is seeking a second term after winning in 2002 against Democratic Sen. Max Cleland in a campaign that infuriated Democrats with a TV ad that questioned Cleland’s commitment to national security and flashed a photo of Osama bin Laden. Martin has aligned himself with President-elect Barack Obama’s message of change, and has vowed to provide economic relief for the middle class. Chambliss has promised to be a firewall against a Democratic-dominated Washington getting a “blank check.”

Early voting statistics were encouraging for the Chambliss camp.

Of the nearly 500,000 early voters, turnout was down among black voters and higher among white males compared to advance voting before the general election.

White males normally are a solid Republican constituency in Georgia, while exit polls showed that Martin won the votes of nine of ten Georgia blacks who registered a preference.

Still, analysts say it’s hard to tell how that may impact Tuesday’s contest.

“It doesn’t mean the overall turnout will be skewed,” said Emory University political scientist Alan Abramowitz. “It could just mean that there’s much less incentive to early vote this time, because no one’s expecting there to be long lines now.”

Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel did not predict turnout for the contest, but the 1992 runoff attracted about 1.2 million voters – roughly half the turnout in that year’s general election.

Roughly 4 million people cast ballots in this year’s general election, and both sides have since tried to keep voters’ attention with a barrage of ads and visits by political heavy-hitters.

Former President Bill Clinton and former Vice President Al Gore both stumped for Martin. President-elect Barack Obama recorded a radio ad for Martin and sent 100 field operatives, but he didn’t campaign in the state despite a request from Martin to do so.

Several ex-Republican presidential candidates made appearances for Chambliss, including GOP nominee John McCain, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, McCain’s vice presidential pick, held four rallies for Chambliss that drew thousands of party faithful Monday.

Saxby Chambliss: www.saxby.org

Jim Martin: www.martinforsenate.com

ATLANTA – Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin will be stumping with Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss on the eve of his Dec. 2 runoff.

Palin, who was a hit with the conservative GOP base as she ran for vice-president, will join Chambliss at four rallies across Georgia.

Chambliss is running off against Democrat Jim Martin in a race that could help determine whether Democrats have enough votes to block GOP filibusters in the U.S. Senate.

Responding to the Palin announcement, Chambliss said, “We’ve got the wind at our backs.”

Georgia is one of two unresolved contests. The other is in Minnesota, where a recount is under way in the race between Republican Sen. Norm Coleman and Democrat Al Franken.

ATLANTA – President-elect Barack Obama has waded into Georgia’s U.S. Senate runoff, recording a radio ad supporting Democrat Jim Martin, but there’s still no word on whether the president-elect will make a personal appearance.

In the spot, Obama thanks Georgians who voted for him Nov. 4, then urged support for Martin.

“The elections aren’t over,” Obama said. “I want to urge you to turn out one more time and help elect Jim Martin to the United States Senate.”

Martin is locked in a hotly contested Dec. 2 runoff with first-term Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss. The Georgia race hastaken on national significance as one of two unresolved Senate races. The other is in Minnesota, where a re-count is under way to determine whether Republican Sen. Norm Coleman or Democrat Al Franken is the winner. Wins in both races could give Democrats the 60 seats needed to beat back Republican filibusters.

The stakes are high, and both parties have brought out the political heavyweights. Republicans John McCain and Mike Huckabee stumped for Chambliss last week, and Mitt Romney is due in Georgia Friday.

Former President Bill Clinton led a rally for Martin on Wednesday, and his vice president, Al Gore, is set to appear Sunday.

About 100 Obama field operatives have been working with Martin’s campaign staff to ensure voters turn out for the runoff, crucial for Martin to win in reliably Republican state. But direct involvement carries risks for Obama: If Martin loses, Obama would be tagged with a defeat before he’s sworn in. McCain carried the state by five percentage points Nov. 4.

RALEIGH, N.C. — Former Governor James G. Martin has endorsed Dan Barrett’s candidacy for the North Carolina Court of Appeals.

“The North Carolina Court of Appeals is critical to our system of justice,” Martin said in a press release.  “Dan Barrett will apply and interpret the law fairly. He will be tough on crime. Dan will not legislate from the bench.”

Barrett ran a grassroots campaign for governor in 2004 during which he walked 582 miles across North Carolina.  Barrett has practiced law for 23 years. Learn more about Dan Barrett.